Harry Situation Reviews: Jenny LeClue: Detectivu

I think I just found my new favorite video game!

Jenny LeClue: Detectivu is a mystery adventure puzzle game developed and published by indie studio Mografti. Initially this game was released a year ago for the PC and Mac, but a port for the Ninendo Switch was released earlier this year, which is the version I purchased and played.

You play as the titular Jenny LeClue, a young intelligent girl who dreams of becoming a world famous detective (somewhere a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew). At first she’s known to help out locals in her hometown Arthurton with mild cases of missing items until the case of a lifetime strikes when Jenny LeClue comes across a case of murder. While she is shocked with such a discovery, this is the case she’s always wanted to solve. Unfortunately her worlds gets turned upside down when her mother is the one that is accused of being the murderer. Jenny LeClue must uncover all the clues around Arthurton to hopefully clear her mother’s name while also unlocking some of Arthurton’s darkest and most hidden secrets. There is also a fictional author, the writer of the Jenny LeClue books which this game takes place inside, who acts as the game’s narrator, as you the player help him write Jenny’s next great adventure.

This game was also made through crowd funding back in 2014, reaching a total of $105,797 from a goal of $65,000. Wow, imagine that. A crowd funded project that actually delivers. I wonder if Butch Hartman has ever heard such a concept.

I didn’t know what I was getting out of this game when I first purchased it (at a incredibly low price for $3), but I never imagined that I would end up loving this game.

I love this art style. It has a very simplistic 2D art drawing for the characters and the backgrounds. It makes it feel like its an illustration from a children's book or a comic. I mean I just love it. It's beautiful and colorful. I just love looking at this game.

The story was what really engaged me the most. The writing is beyond incredile. I was sucked into this story and this world in the first half hour of the game. I’m telling you I did not stop playing once. I managed to play a good 9-10 hours of this game and I did not want it to end. I was that hooked.

There’s actually two parts to the overall story. One part is the writer behind the Jenny LeClue books, Arthur K. Finklestein, is being criticized by everyone for his book series playing too repetitive and safe, which is leading to a decline to book sales. He is then bullied by his publisher into writing something darker. I will admit that I’m partial to side with both people in this argument. On one hand, I mean, it’s a mystery book for kids, what else can it be other than safe and repetitive? Encyclopedia Brown isn’t solving homicides and rape cases in his books. But some times, as a writer, you do need to spice up the formula just to keeps things interesting. So ultimately Arthur says screw it, and so the whole game is basically his attempt to make his new Jenny LeClue book a little darker and edgy.

The other part is where the players follow Jenny LeClue in solving this murder mystery and trying to piece together all the clues. Because this story is being told as a story book, you can make choices that affect the overall environments and interactions with other characters. There are two different aspects to this game. One is the puzzle-adventure where you as Jenny interact with other characters, explore the environment, and find clues with your trusted magnifying glass. The other aspect is the detective element where you interrogate different characters and spot clues on their persons that help you in your investigation, and then putting all the pieces together to solve smaller mysteries. She also has a little notebook to use to go over plot points, use as a map, and you can even decorate it with different stickers you can find hidden throughout the game.

As I understand at first this game didn’t have any voice acting. Dialogue was done completely through text. It was only recently the made a patch to include voice acting. I gotta say that I’m glad they went that route because the voice acting is really incredible. They all seem to match up with their characters extremely well. Nothing feels forced. Nothing feels wooden. There's never been a moment where I was like, "oh, why did they go with that voice for that character". It all blends perfectly.

And I do like these characters. Jenny LeClue is a great protagonist to follow. She's smart and dedicated if not overconfident and little hesitant to ask for help. While she is happy to solve a real murder case, she also understands the drastic the situation really is, considering her mother is in prison, and there are times where she breaks down and feels helpless. You really do feel for her and her situation and you want to help her succeed in this mystery. And there's also some great side characters like Jenny's cousin Suzy Glatz, who is this really nice popular girl with the intellect of Tony Stark. Seriously, you're at this girl's house and she's got this secret lab in her attic. I think my favorite side character is the town loon named CJ. Every word that comes out of his mouth always has me laughing hard and his exchange with Jenny is a riot.

The puzzles are great too. They're basically run of the mill puzzles where it may require you to line something up or look for a certain word in order to decode a certain message. Some puzzles are also environmental such as moving some bookshelves around in order to get a cart or move some objects around in order to unlock a door. Some are pretty simple while others do offer some challenge. It's a nice balance and it definitely keeps the gameplay engaging.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Jenny LeClue. It was a blast to play and I hope the developers make another because (not to spoil anything too big) this game ends on a huge cliffhanger and I have to know what comes next. I think there's potential for a whole franchise from this game. Definitely get this game and play it when you have a chance.

Positives:

-Outstanding art style

-Intriguing puzzle solving and detective skills

-Incredible story and writing

-Great cast of characters

-Discovering mysteries of Arthurton

Negatives:

-None

Final Grade: A+

So those are my thoughts on Jenny LeClue: Detectivu. Have you played this game? What were your thoughts? What's your favorite mystery or puzzle game? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

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